Impeachment Report Released

[Sandy Shanks]

This is why Democrats are so eager to impeach Trump. As you will see, so should Republicans.

“I would like you to do us a favor, though.”

This is from the transcript of the July 25 phone call between Trump and Zelensky. It was provided by the White House. The following is a quote from Trump.

Good because I· heard you had a prosecutor who· was very good and he was shut down and that's really unfair. A lot of people are talking about that, the way they shut your very good prosecutor down and you had some very bad people involved. Mr. Giuliani is a highly respected man. He was the mayor of New York City, a great mayor, and I would like him to call you. I will ask him to call you along with the Attorney General. Rudy very much knows what's happening and he is a very capable guy. If you could speak to him that would be great. The former ambassador from the United States,· the woman., was bad news and the people she was dealing with in.the Ukraine.were bad news so I just want to let you know that. The other thing, there's a lot of.talk about Biden's son, that Biden stopped the prosecution and a lot of people want to find out about that so whatever you can do with the Attorney General would be great.Biden went around bragging that he stopped the prosecution so if you can look into it ... It sounds horrible to me.

“What you’re describing is a quid pro quo,” asserted the reporter. “We do that all the time,” replied [Trump's chief of staff] Mulvaney. “Did he also mention to me the corruption related to the DNC server? Absolutely. No question about it. But that’s it. That’s why we held up the money … I have news for everybody: Get over it. There’s going to be political influence in foreign policy.” ‘We Do That All the Time, Get Over It.’ Mulvaney Boasts About Ukraine Plot

After the July 25 phone call with Zelensky, as he usually does, Trump doubled down on the Biden investigation. On Oct. 3, in a news conference on the White House lawn, he called on Ukraine and China to look into former Vice President Joe Biden and his son Hunter.

“If they were honest about it, they would start a major investigation into the Bidens,” Trump said when asked what he wanted Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to do about the former veep and his son.

“They should investigate the Bidens,” Trump said. “Likewise, China should start an investigation into the Bidens, because what happened in China is just about as bad as what happened with Ukraine.”

Trump says China should investigate the Bidens, doubles down on Ukraine probe

There is no getting around it. It is all well and good that Republicans can say Trump did nothing to cause his removal from office, but if the Republicans in the Senate exonerate Trump, if Trump's fans continue to insist impeachment is a sham, then the Republican Party and Trump's fans are saying:

A) The President is permitted to ask for foreign interference in our elections to improve his chances of winning.

B) The President is permitted to use military aid approved by Congress to a country fighting Russian aggression as a means of extortion to compel a foreign leader to comply with his wishes.

C) To cover up his deeds, the President is permitted to use obstruction of justice.

D) The President is permitted to ignore Congressional oversight as mandated by our Constitution.

Is this what the Republican Party wants to be remember for?

 

[Sandy Shanks]

As expected, Trump will not challenge the evidence against him.

The Post writes, "Pat A. Cipollone, the White House counsel, indicated to the House Judiciary Committee on Friday that Trump would not be sending attorneys to its hearing on Monday, when the panel charged with drafting articles of impeachment will hear evidence from Intelligence Committee lawyers on the investigation into the president’s conduct toward Ukraine.

"The scathing, two-paragraph letter reiterated the White House’s protests that the Democrats’ impeachment investigation violated Trump’s due process rights. Cipollone did not explicitly say the White House would not participate in the House process going forward, but gave no indication that it would."

The letter is typically Trumpian. Trump makes accusations, but never explains them. In this case, the White House has made the claim that the "impeachment investigation violated Trump’s due process rights," but the two paragraph letter does not explain how the impeachment investigation is violating Trump's due process. In the case of the Judiciary Committee, they have invited Trump's lawyers and his witnesses. Schiff did the same in the open hearings of the Intelligence Committee. In both cases, Trump has refused then he turns around and says he is being denied due process while calling the Constitutionally mandated impeachment proceedings a hoax.

Trump is relying on lies and attempted deception. Those are the actions of a very guilty President.